The present invention is directed to the field of building construction. More particularly, the present invention involves a reinforced insulative panel particularly useful in constructing “Florida rooms”, i.e., two, three and four season patio rooms.
So called “Florida rooms” have had increasing popularity in the Northeastern and upper Midwestern United States, particularly as the capabilities of available insulative materials have improved. Blocks of closed-cell foam serve as structural panels in walls and roofs. While these panels have desirable insulative qualities and are light weight, they typically lack adequate structural rigidity, particularly in the roofing application where load bearing requirements imposed on building contractors by most construction codes require that the roof be able to support a weight equivalent to two workmen. In addition, an alternate method of attaching/aligning adjacent panels is needed.
The insulative panel of the present invention comprises an insulative board having a first thickness; a reinforcing beam extending substantially a full width of the first thickness along a first edge of the insulative board, the reinforcing beam embracing the first edge and having an open side facing outwardly from the first edge; a first sheet metal skin covering an upper surface of the insulative board; a second sheet metal skin covering a lower surface of the insulative board; a second edge of the insulative board having a reduced thickness forming a first pocket above a center line of the insulative board and a second pocket below the center line of the insulative board; first spring attachment means formed along and extending outwardly beyond the first edge of the insulative board; second spring attachment means formed along the second edge of the insulative board; whereby the second edge of a second panel can be inserted into the open side of the first edge of a first panel, the second spring attachment means of the second panel engaging the first spring attachment means of the first panel to securely locate the first and second panels relative to each other.
Preferably, the reinforcing beam comprises an off-set I-beam having a central web and a first set of flanges extending in a first direction and a second set of flanges off-set from the first set extending in an opposite direction. The central web has a thermal break therein bridged by a material having reduced thermal conductivity. The thermal break forms a lateral protrusion which extends into the open side, the second edge having a recess to accommodate the lateral protrusion.
The first spring attachment means is fabricated from a portion of the first and second sheet metal skin coverings extending beyond the first edge and the second spring attachment means is fabricated from a portion of the first and second sheet metal skin coverings extending beyond portions of the second edge and lying in the first and second pockets. The first and second spring attachment means are preferably formed as complementary geometrically shaped fingers which engage in the first and second pockets. Most preferably, the complementary geometrically shaped fingers have a V-shape in which a closed point thereof protrudes away from second edge having reduced thickness.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.